Greece prepares for Brexit

As the
deadline draws near for Brexit, EU countries are advising expats, holidaymakers
and travellers what the position will be after March 29th.

Corfu is one of the most popular Greek destinations for British visitors

Of
concern to them – and British tour operators – is the fact that holiday
bookings aren’t as strong as they might be. That is being placed fairly and
squarely on Brexit concerns.

Generally
the EU countries have a unified approach but how they communicate that
information to visitors and expats is patchy. Italy and Spain have released
information and now Greece has configured a special website with a question and
answer format to allay doubts and to demonstrate that visiting the country will
remain pretty easy.

As this
information, as I said, is common I am going to quote liberally from the
website as a guide for holidaymakers going not just to Greece but to any other
EU country.

Firstly,
up until March 29th entry to Greece will be exactly as it has been
in previous years. You don’t need a visa
but you must take your passport. Your health insurance coverage and the
conditions under which you are insured do not change.

If there
is an agreement to run after March 29th, you will still need a
passport but you don’t need a visa. This situation will exist until the end of
2020. Once again your health insurance cover conditions will not change.

If there
is no agreement and no extension has been agreed, at least for 2019, British
travellers must have a valid passport,
preferably issued after the end of 2009. However British visitors won’t
obviously go through the EU passport lines but the lines for others. This could
mean a slight delay in getting through but I suspect that it will still be
fairly quick.

An EU
proposal exempts UK nationals from requiring a visa for stays up to 90 days
provided that the British government agrees to the same for EU visitors coming
to the UK. This, the UK government has already said that they will do.

The Greek
government has announced that if there is a no-deal Brexit then they will
present a bill to the Greek parliament about British citizens’ rights in Greece
and this will be added to the website when available.

In summary I would say that there is very little to concern
travellers this year. Enjoy your holidays instead whether it be within EU
countries or elsewhere.